An Associated Press review of Garland's record on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit suggests he is a judge who only rarely has found himself at odds with the government agencies that appear before him.

From his first days at Harvard, Merrick Garland's classmates pegged him as a star. Smartest guy in the room, self-confident, easygoing and thoughtful are some of the compliments they still pay him 40 years later.